Rudetsky, Monheit, Etc. Lined Up for Usdan Fest Concerts

The 2006 Festival Concerts at Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts will begin Monday, June 26th with Anthony McGill and Friends, a performance by the Principal Clarinetist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and colleagues. The Festival Concerts, with major sponsorship by the MARCLED Foundation, are private performances in music, dance and theater for Usdan Center's 1800 students at the Center's McKinley Ampitheatrer, giving them exposure to the world's finest performing artists.

Other artists to perform include the Limon Dance Company, acclaimed jazz singer and former Usdanite Jane Monheit; The Graham Ashton Brass Ensemble, the 2006 Yiddish Theater Festival, with celebrated singers and actors recreating highlights of Yiddish stage; string quartet Ethel; the Grammy-winning New York Voices, violinist Rachel Lee. In addition, Broadway and television producer/musical/director/actor and former Usdanite Seth Rudetsky (Mamma Mia!, The Phantom of the Opera, "Seth's Broadway Chatterbox," Actors' Fund concerts) will present a cabaret of his Usdan memories, for a special Alumni Day concert..

Artists will perform for the first few weeks of the season, and after that, the Festival Concerts will be performed by Usdan Center student classes, such as the Usdan Jazz Ensemble, the Usdan Chorus and the Usdan Orchestra.

The Festival concert schedule is as follows:

1) Monday, June 26: Anthony McGill and Friends
2) Tuesday, June 27: Faustwork Mask Theater – Robert Faust takes audiences into his theater of masked imagination.
3) Wednesday, June 28: Sirena Huang - the eleven-year-old violin pordigy in her Usdan debut. She has already been hailed for her "boudless musical imagination."
4) Thursday, June 29: 2006 Yiddish Theater Festival – sponsored by CAMBR Foundation
5) Friday, June 30: Graham Ashton Brass Ensemble – Sponsored by the Lauder Companies
6) Monday, July 3: The Chameleons - Usdan's favorite mimes return with their mesmerizing scenes of silence
7) Wednesday July 6 (Center is closed July 4): Limon Dance Company – sponsored by Marjorie and Morgan Miller Concert Fund
8) Thursday, July 6: Ethel
9) Friday, July 7: Usdan Chamber Players – Usdan's accomplished faculty takes center stage
10) Monday, July 10: Jane Monheit
11) Tuesday, July 11: Alpin Hong - First-Prize winner of the Concert Artist Guild Competition, this pianist dazzles with artistic dexterity.
12) Thursday, July 13: Rachel Lee, performing Mozart's Third Violin Concerto with Usdan Orchestra IV, conducted by David Hattner
13) Friday, July 14: Seth Rudetsky and Friends
14) Monday, July 17: Ajkan Ballet Theater – the innovative dance company debuts at Usdan.
15) Tuesday, July 18: New York Voices – sponsored by LIPA
16) Thursday, July 20: Voices From Broadway – cast members of current Broadway shows in a musical presentation created especially for Usdan Center.

Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, called by Time Magazine "One of the most unique camps in America," has introduced the visual and performing arts to more than 40,000 young people ages 6 to 18 since 1967. Its alumni include Mariah Carey, Jane Monheit and Natalie Portman and members of major music and dance ensembles. Students attend five days a week from throughout the Tri-State Area, transported to the Center's magnificent woodland setting at 185 Colonial Springs Road in Wheatley Heights (Huntington area), Long Island by over 120 buses. The 2006 season runs from June 26 to August 11 and features many special events, including the Sunday July 16 Usdan University, the annual one-day arts camp for adults, the July 20-21 music technology conference of the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA), and the annual Usdan Center Gala. Registration is ongoing through June 25, and no audition is needed for most classes. For more information, visit www.usdan.com, or call (631) 643-7900.